<p>
Aha! I was well into adulthood before I stayed in a hotel with a bellman or a doorman (or where you would refer to the maid as a chambermaid). Maybe that’s why I was never exposed to this idea of tipping for maid service.</p>
<p>I can’t remember the last time I stayed at a hotel where there was a bellhop or a doorman. </p>
<p>Maybe once or twice in my life. Usually the places I stay involve free chocolate chip cookies and bonus points for loyalty, and I take my own bags to my room.</p>
<p>We don’t often stay at “fancy” hotels, but we did stay at the Ritz-Carlton last week. Lots of tipping to do…LOL…bellhops, valet parking, housekeepers…not to mention the tipping that went on at the airport and car rental shuttle. </p>
<p>Oh well, since we’re typically Residence Inn kind of people, that kind of tipping doesn’t happen often. (I love Residence Inn!! I love having a kitchen in our room!!)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My daughter worked as a server at a restaurant her senior year of high school that was in our district. There were many people that came in that knew her that tipped her VERY well the summer before going off to college, even getting a $100 bill from three different people. Many times it came with a nice comment such as “Great job getting into X College.” She was honored that they thought enough of her to bestow such a gift to her. </p>
<p>Regarding tipping for take-out orders, at this same restaurant probably 1/3 of the people tipped for their take-out orders. Usually it was the hostess that took the order, was responsible for checking it to make sure it was correct once in the to go bag, make up the to go drinks, and get the condiments and utensils for the order. On football Saturdays and Sundays, these orders were non stop, and the $2 or $5 tip sure was appreciated.</p>
<p>I
</p>
<p>Free choc chip cookies?</p>
<p>I do admit I like the Sheratons especially the one in Vancouver & at Fishermans Wharf.
( Bliss bath products, lighted makeup mirrors & bathrubs!)</p>
<p>But I always forget to tip until I check out- although I don’t have them change the sheets & if I need something, I grab a maid in the hall.
I am pretty unorganized- I would have to hire a cleaning service before I could have a cleaning service, if you know what I mean!
The last place I stayed was part of a suite with a wet bar and I had all my stuff strewn from one end to the other- I can just hear my aunt say * My Land!*
:o</p>
<p>I do think it is funny that the more expensive the hotel is, the less likely they are to have a microwave or fridge in the room.
When we stayed in San Francisco, I brought a collapsible cooler, so we could go to Trader Joes’ across the street & buy juice & salad.</p>
<p>I wasn’t brought up to tip well- My family was very frugal and we hardly ever went out to dinner. My grandparents always hosted relatives from out of town, but when I was old enough to realize how cheap they were when entertaining, I started slipping money under my own plate in case I ever wanted to return to that restaurant!
;)</p>
<p>JYM626
It was you who seems to think that it all evens out. I wasn’t being flippant. You said it all --“we must be cheapskates” (or were you being flippant?)</p>
<p>Most of us who get worked up about tips have been in the position of depending on them. And we know how much hard work is involved.You have made the decision that your delivery guy is undeserving of your bounty. I’m sure you know best.
I don’t tip at Starbucks because I don’t go to Starbucks. But I do tip the Chinese delivery guy 20%. But I don’t pretend that somehow my 20% tip to the Chinese delivery guy “all balances out” with the next person I decide not to tip well.</p>
<p>AND I always tip the person at the takeout counter in a restaurant. I’ve done that job as well…more work than you can imagine and hardly anyone ever tips.</p>
<p>And a 50% tip?I remember one Christmas Eve in college. Herb Alpert tipped me $100 on a $75 tab. Made me want to go out and buy an old Tiajuana Brass album and dance for joy. The same guy gave my alma mater UCLA 44 million to the music program.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Most of us who aren’t big tippers have been in the position of working a low wage job that wasn’t a tipped position.</p>
<p>There are a lot of jobs that are hard work for little money. Only some of those jobs receives tips. And yes, people are working these low wage jobs to support families.</p>
<p>babyon the way–
You do realize that food servers get taxed by the IRS on sales whether or not they actually get tipped? So if you do not tip—the server is making less money? For example in AZ a server will make well below minimum wage ($3.74 an hour) and STILL get taxed for non existent tips.
Just keep that in mind. Tipping is not mandatory and yes, as you said earlier , it’s a risk that these workers take. There will always be customers who are resentful of having to tip.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is where I think we are treading into assumptions. Perhaps you know that particular poster’s financial situation, but for many people an occasional pizza might be a real splurge and they can’t afford an overly generous tip, especially when you factor in all the other places they may be expected to tip – when they get their kids haircuts, etc. Tipping does add up. How much do you think you tip in a week or a month? Maybe $50 or $100 or more a week/month is doable for you, but that’s gas money, that’s the electric bill for many people. I don’t think it’s fair to say that those people, who maybe need to be most frugal, shouldn’t clip out a coupon and order the occasional pizza for their kids and just give a couple of dollars to the delivery guy. I doubt those businesses would even want to lose customers over the size of the tip. In some sense, JYM626 is right because the low tip by a family who can’t afford too much ends up being balanced by tippers like you. I just wouldn’t presume there is always some state of bounty involved. The person ordering the pizza may be poorer than the person delivering it.</p>
<p>Like I said earlier, if you can’t afford to tip—why not pick up the pie?
If I am availing myself of a service from a person who lives off tips, I take that into account when I request the service and I budget it in the price. I’ve also been in the position to not be able to afford delivery. So I made my food at home or pick it up at the Pizza parlor.
(And yes you are right, I tend to over tip since I know that most folks don’t tip well.)
It’s a heavy, heavy burden. :(</p>
<p>The OP wanted to know how much is equitable to tip a delivery person. I remember a similar thread a few years back .What a can of worms!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>When my four kids were young, a delivery meal was usually on a desperate day to relieve some stress – sick kids, sleep deprived, husband out of town or working late, whatever. Loading them all into the car (and if you live in a cold climate that involves bundling them up), taking them out (because you can’t leave them in the car unattended) going in, getting back in the car and home defeats half the purpose of ordering food.</p>
<p>Few parents on here complain that their kids wait tables and hardly get any money. It’s quite the opposite. Parents of waitresses and pizza drivers are usually boasting about how their kids are making good money for a student job.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes. As I said before, this is for the convenience of the employee. It is an agreement that the employee won’t get audited by the IRS and eliminates the need to keep detailed records of the amount of tips received each day. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>There are few professions where the workers say their bosses pay them handsomely. Typically employees complain that they are underpaid.</p>
<p>But mimk6–THATS my point. It is not as easy as people stated “the driver just walks from the car to the door” ----why should I tip as much as a server? Schlepping pizza can be a tough job.
Yes, we’ve all been there with the kids, the flu, the absent hubby…I’m just pleading the case for the poor driver trying to make a living.</p>
<p>suggested reading:Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America [Paperback]
Barbara Ehrenreich</p>
<p>
You are referring to the Attributed Tip Income Program? If so, this is not 100% true.</p>
<p>Not all employers participate in the attributed tip program. And servers have the option of reporting to the employer the tips actually received, which the employer must use for wages instead of the attributed tip amount.</p>
<p>The employee can choose to participate because it saves them a lot of paperwork. Over the course of a year being over and under for any given month will probably balance out. And actually the assumed tip rate is less than the historical average of the restaurant, so they should rarely come out behind. If the server is consistently below the rate they can opt out.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A year or two ago, I happened to catch an NPR interview with a researcher who had done a study on the most demeaning, low-paying jobs in the US. Hotel housekeepers topped the list. They usually make minimum wage. No benefits. They’re required to clean an allotted number of rooms every day, and if they can’t complete the task their pay is docked and they may even be fired. The injury rate is high due to non-stop changing sheets, flipping mattresses, scrubbing bathrooms, and vacuuming. A reported 66% rely on pain medication to get through the day. Although many guests leave their rooms scrupulously clean, others leave unbelievably disgusting messes.</p>
<p>Many of the housekeepers in the study were living at the poverty level while trying to support families. Most of them wanted to leave their jobs, but they didn’t have the education or language skills to seek employment elsewhere. (Many hotel housekeepers are immigrant women of color.)</p>
<p>Some of the housekeepers in the study remarked that they felt invisible and lower than dirt because few of the guests ever looked at them or spoke to them. Tips were rare, although hotel management had assured the housekeepers at the time they were hired that they would earn tips.</p>
<p>The interview was an eye-opener for me. Since then, I’ve made it a point to go out of my way to speak to housekeepers. I also leave a minimum tip of $5 per night–more if we have more than two people staying in our room.</p>
<p>Well I just gave no tip to someone who was delivering food because I had a twenty-one dollar order but only two twenty dollar bills. This guy had no change at all and seemed to expect that I should be the one with change, so I had to go dig up coins to pay for the rest over the twenty dollars. </p>
<p>Was this my fault? I’ve never before had a delivery person who didn’t have change, but should I expect that?</p>
<p>PhysicsMom…I think you may have taught the delivery guy a lesson…always have small bills if you are expecting a tip. I’ll bet he is more prepared next time.</p>
<p>I have never worked as a server because I know how hard it is.</p>
<p>I have worked in low paying jobs however, and even working as a hairdresser I had long hours/hard work, but my clients tipped very well.</p>
<p>FOr those who want a glimpse of life for those working in " invisible" jobs, I suggest reading
[Nickle & Dimed](<a href=“Nickel and Dimed”>http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/e/ehrenreich-01nickel.html</a>)</p>
<p>If I go to one of those inexpensive salons, I tend to overtip my stylist. My hair is…complicated. I know how hard it is for them to give me an amazing cut, and when a cut costs under $30, I know the stylist is not making enough on my cut!</p>
<p>If I go to a higher priced salon, I tend to not tip quite so well. Then again, I haven’t gone to a higher priced salon in a LONG time.</p>
<p>I cut my own hair :o,
I worked as a stylist about um 30 years ago? but was paid by the hour- we charged about $40 for a cut ( & I made a teeny bit more than min wage) plus tips. ( However, people would often tip $10 for the haircut- but then, this was * Bellevue*)</p>
<p>I tend to think that was expensive for the time, but I have always cut my hair, so I don’t really know.</p>
<p>People working in expensive salons often lease their station, which takes a huge chunk out of your earnings,- not many ways to make a decent living doing hair unless you own your own shop& that sounded like too much work for me.</p>